Welcome back to your senses, took you long enough!
by FelixPhoenix
Summary: Harry's coming to his senses about various things in his life. GOF timeframe,after the Ball.Doses of humor,some drama. Important details : FIRST FIC EVER, DON'T HAVE A BETA, AND FOR CHRIST'S SAKE DON'T SLAUGHTER ME WITH FLAMERS I'm just the new guy.
1. Prologue

Diclaimer : I . DON'T . OWN . HARRY. POTTER .

or anything that has to with his universe

Prologue

Amongst the hallways of the castle that housed Hogwarts the school of witchcraft and wizardry the happy, cheering and at times delighted voices of said schools students could be heard as they made their way to their dormitories where they could finally get out of their formal clothes (which may have been just a little uncomfortable wearing them but brought out their best looks nonetheless) get in their pajamas talk a little about the nights events ( with many comments about who was wearing what and if she or he should have been wearing it from the girls and which girl looked hot from the boys) to eventually call it a night so as to finally fall for a much needed restful sleep.

The occasion was none other than the famous Yule ball that was always kept at the school housing the Tri-Wizard tournament, during the event, which this time was Hogwarts (by someone's interference for a specific reason or by clear chance only a very gifted mind could tell and even then said mind wouldn't be absolutely sure ).

Of course the students of the other schools that participated in the event as well (namely Beauxbatons and Durmstrang) could be heard talking excitedly amongst each other in their native languages and some could even be seen skipping like ten year olds (while others tried to show as much dignity as possible but clearly with eyes bursting with happiness and lightheadedness) all the while making their way towards their temporary place of residence which was also the means of transport of the representative number of people each school had sent for the tournament meaning a beautifully decorated with carvings carriage that was pulled by white winged horses for Beauxbatons and a fierce dark military looking galley from the old times that pirates still existed which had a red eagle with its wings spread on the main sail for Durmstrang.

Such a nice atmosphere for young people who wanted to take a break from their studies or a break from the obligations that four out of all of those students have because they are the ones that were chosen to be tested in three tasks totally of this tournament so they can prove that they deserve eternal glory.

And again some type of strange situation is still present.... Four champions for a triwizard tournament......Hmmm?

And what a "Nice atmosphere" indeed, a wonderful night for a 7th year old who had just gotten himself the girl he fancied as a girlfriend, a promising one for another from Durmstrang that got to take someone to the ball that was not swooning at him because of who he was (a total stranger to him before tonight) and a girl who got to have a good time (the first for a while) since her escort wasn't swooning at her for what she was.

But.....

Something's missing......or rather.......someone's missing.

If anybody noticed or not they sure didn't say anything about it. Imagine that, amongst all the excitement they haven't notice what the odd forth one out is doing.

'Should I take that as an insult or a blessing?' wondered harry as the thought crossed his mind


	2. Chapter 1

Diclaimer : I . DON'T . OWN . HARRY. POTTER .

or anything that has to with his universe

Chapter 1

The tallest tower of the Hogwarts castle or the astronomy tower as it was known for quite some time now since that was where the students went to either take their astronomy lessons or do their homework for it, had a view that some would call breathtaking others terrifying but most would call romantic. The romantic portion of those people are the ones that have given this tower the reputation of this place as a spot where loving couples engaged in activities that if disclosed in the open would make Minerva McGonagall go into a furious rage about proper behavior, Dumbledore's twinkle double in intensity, Snape sneer and start muttering about childish behavior and any mother try and cover up her child's ears if they were in hearing range.

But tonight this tower was not hosting any kind of those types of activities quite the contrary actually there was only one person present sitting on one of the wide ledgers of the tower enjoying the view, well maybe not enjoying but it did calm him a bit. Heights didn't scare him at all, quite the contrary, it made him feel just like home being high up in the air. As for enjoying, nothing about tonight felt satisfying to him.

A somewhat strong breeze made him shudder a bit as it impacted his frame making his black, untamable even to a charmed comb, hair even messier than before thus revealing part of the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. And if what they say about the eyes being the mirror of the soul was true, the trouble someone would see in his green like freshly grown grass colored eyes if they looked close would cause them to take a step back involuntarily.

Too many thoughts going through his head almost at the speed of light for even a skilled legillimens to make any sense of it all. But one that forced a hollow chuckle out of him was how easy it had been for him to sneak out of the Gryffindor dormitories and common room to come here and think. Not because it was difficult all the other times he had done it, especially since he had his father's invisibility cloak, but how no-one paid him any attention.

He was not an attention seeking person, no he always wanted everybody to mind their own business and leave him alone but not having Hermione berate him even as the thought of sneaking out formed in his head or Ron trying to tag along, after having understood what Hermione was berating him for, or the whole school whispering behind his back about various things that concerned him in one way or an other threw him for a loop.

An insult or a blessing, he didn't know what this whole situation was. One thing that he was sure he felt at the moment was loneliness. Since the announcement that there would be a Yule ball his stomach had been like a knot which was tightening by the hour and he was starting to fear that it would snap. Nervousness and anxiety were the dominating feelings that had engulfed him during those excruciating first hours mulling one thought over and over in his mind.

Should he ask her now, before anyone else did, to the ball or should he wait a little and if no-one approached her he could play the whole situation in a 'let's just go as friends and have a good time' way staying in the 'safe-zone' and not driving her away from him.

Well three hurray's for the bloody-idiot-who-lived, that's what you get when you decide to stay in the 'safe zone' and not take a risk, someone else comes along and snatches the opportunity right under your nose and all you're left is to adjust and adapt.

'I mean for crying out-freaking-loud how could it be that taking a risk with my life so many times and go up against a basilisk, a lunatic with delusions of grandeur and fondness for anagrams or all of the other situations that I have landed myself into is easy for me to do but when it comes to a simple thing like open the gob that I have on my face for a mouth to utter a simple question I back down like a scared little puppy dog is beyond me.'

'Now Sirius would take an insult at that' thought harry and couldn't help but smile at what he thought his god father's reaction would be.

"It's official then I'm an idiot" muttered Harry.

"Now, why would a brilliant boy like you make such a degrading comment for himself?" commented an aged voice form behind him almost scaring him out of his skin and throwing him of the ledger.

Harry was gripping the edge of the wall tightly and trying to steady his breath at the same time, while thanking every deity he knew that had somehow helped him steady himself and not fall off probably to his death. Once he got off the ledger and calmed himself from the shock he had just received, yeah he like heights, yeah he like the feel of adrenaline when the ground was coming at him at a high speed but that was when he was ON HIS BROOM not on a free fall, he heard a chuckle from behind him, that was all he needed to snap out of his shocked stupor and reminded him that the person that had caused this was still present and enjoying him-self.

'Well let's see how you enjoy this' and with that he rounded on the person behind him

"What the fuck do you think you're doing scaring me of like that do you knooohh shit"!!!!

'ho ohh' was the thought that replaced the tirade that he had prepared because he was staring at the once amused and now stern face of Albus Dumbledore and not only had he started his yelling by cursing he had also finished it with one, although the last one was not intentional, he was caught off-guard, he had done all that in front of the Headmaster of the school.

'Brilliant Harry, well done, wanna have a go at Snape now? Maybe that will make you feel better'. He thought to himself. 'Actually…!'.

"I'm going to overlook your little slip up for this time Harry as I seem to have gone temporarily deaf but know that, that kind of vocabulary isn't just forbidden anywhere on the grounds off this school but also degrading to the personality of the one using it" said Dumbledore interrupting Harrys thoughts and finally smiling again at him the twinkle returning in his eyes.

"I'm sorry professor but you caught me off-guard there for a second, I was deep in my thoughts thinking I was alone so...." he trailed off.

"Deep in thought? Why should you be thinking on a day such as this and not be in your dormitory with your friends talking about the nights events?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry shrugged. The ball wasn't as great for him as everybody else seemed to think.

"I don't know what to say, it's just that tonight wasn't much of a special night to me as it was for everyone else" said Harry.

The light in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed a little and his smile slipped of his face which now had a sad expression on it.

"It seems then that the ones that organized the whole didn't succeed fully then" said Dumbledore.

"What are you talking about professor?" asked Harry puzzled by the old man's response.

"Well the purpose of the whole thing was to make students, for a short time, forget their homework and everyday routine so as to have some fun in order to freshen up their mind and spirit, as for the champion's of the tournament, for you this is a very difficult period what with all the tasks you have to go through and keep up with your education but it seems, as I said, the whole thing wasn't as successful as we though since one of our champion's seems to be brooding instead of having a good time" responded Dumbledore having seen Harry's puzzled expression.

"May I ask why is that" asked Dumbledore.

"What? Why is what?" answered Harry trying to evade the question

"Why aren't you enjoying yourself? What is so important, for you to spend this night alone?" pressed Dumbledore, he knew that if he kept going like this, Hary's temper would eventually surface again and student or not he would snap at him anyway.

'He has Lilly's temper after all and if I remember correctly Lilly had a short fuse when you pressed her more than necessary. Only James was the one capable of calming her. Ironic really, the person that infuriated her the most during their first Hogwarts years eventually got to be the one to sooth her temper every time she was ready to rant and rave.' thought Dumbledore with fondness and some sadness.

"It's nothing professor, just what you said, the whole tournament thing and the tension from having to keep up with the other's in class was heavier for me than it was for the other I guess".

Once again trying to avoid further explanations and never noticing Dumbledore taking a walk down the memory lane.

"It is ok if you don't want to talk about it Harry you can say so, but please don't lie to me." said Dumbledore.

"Huh? I...I'm not lying" answered Harry somewhat hesitantly.

"If it weren't for your attempt to keep your voice steady and eyes glued to the ground when you said that, I may have believed you, but even then I know for a fact that your grades have been higher this year than during your previous ones and as for the tasks, yes, they are something worth giving your full attention but again you have been through more difficult situations before, life threatening one at that." commented Dumbledore again smiling down at him.

"So, I know you're lying to me" finished Dumbledore a somewhat smug expression on his face.

Harry let a half exasperated, half frustrated breath out, trying to calm him-self so as not to snap at the headmaster again, this time intentionally, he was after all trying to help but the thing is, he wanted to be alone.

"Look, Headmaster, I understand that you are trying to help but right now all I want is to be left alone, so could you do that, please?" responded Harry.

The aged headmaster knew that the young man was close to losing his temper but he thought he could afford one more little push.

"First and foremost, me finding you here at an hour like this would mean point removal from Gryffindor and maybe a detention with one of your professors and second, I cannot let you continue your all nighter because you're simply not allowed to as there is a curfew all students have to abide by. Since you are a student, you should head to bed." said Dumbledore lacing his voice with some authority that had most of his students, even the ones that had graduated, glue their eyes to the ground and fidget like little children that had been naughty.

It seemed though that Harry was not one of those types of students, judging by the stubborn look he was giving him. So he decided to try another, more friendly approach to get this young man to open up.

He hated seeing him like this, maybe he was not his grandson or even related to him directly but 14 years ago, he had made a life altering decision for him, not a very wise one at the time, and the least he could do was make it up to him little by little, after all keeping your emotions welled up led to nothing good, that he knew very well.

"Unless of course....." the sorcerer trailed off purposely.

"Unless what?" asked harry, narrowing his eyes.

"Unless, you're willing to forget, for the next hour or so, that I'm your Headmaster, or even an authority figure and look at me as just a friend who can help you in anything you would want to talk about and willing to advise you on it, since I have many years worth of experience in this thing called life" replied Dumbledore wearing a moderately cheeky grin.

The young wizards jaw was slightly slack. His frustration forgotten.

'The hell?'

"Are you saying? That I have to open up to you or I can't stay here and head up to bed?" inquired Harry.

"More or less" responded Dumbledore.

'You manipulative, blackmailing old coot!!!' thought the astonished mind of Harry Potter.

Dumbledore's expression turned a little more serious but he didn't lose his smile.

"All kidding aside Harry if you're willing to sit down and tell me your problems, I would have no objection to listen and even try to help you solve them. Sitting here 'thinking' as you put it, which is more like feeling sorry for your-self if you ask me and pardon my audacity, will get you nowhere. Accumulating your emotions inside you, will only get you as far as to the point where your mind cannot handle it anymore and finally break down from the strain or snap and make you do something absurd, which you will most likely regret 'after all is said and done' I believe the expression is" said Dumbledore conveying his wisdom through his words.

The thoughtful look on harry's face told to the aged sorcerer that he had gotten his point through and the only thing left was for Harry to trust him and let him help.

'This is the most difficult part for him, I guess. Trusting someone that until now may have been somewhat closer to him than any of the other professors, but a stranger nonetheless.' mused Dumbledore.

"I...I don't know if you could...help me with...eh...the type of problems that I'm having...at the moment...not to be insulting or anything!!" stumble harry through his words adding the last part hastily, all the while his gaze on a spot of the floor in front of him.

A confused expression passed the wrinkled face momentarily before understanding dawned on him and he started to chuckle.

The headmaster's mood was not mirrored by the one the young man was in as he got the impression that he was being laughed at, and the worst part, he didn't know what for.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" snapped Harry not being able to restrain himself any longer.

Whether his attitude went unnoticed on purpose or not, he didn't know but the old man's chuckles died down eventually.

"Don't take my laughing as an insult to you Harry, I wasn't laughing at you, it's just that I'm almost certain now of what is troubling you and your unwillingness to discuss it with me...well, I can understand that in the young peoples eyes the older ones don't do such things as fall in love or have a crush or even engage in more...let's say heated activities but let me assure you that we are people just like anyone else" said a mischievously smiling Dumbledore to a blushing Harry that the only thing in his mind was for the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

The reason he was blushing like a ten year old, was partly because Dumbledore managed to decipher everything in such a short time, he kind of felt a little lame, but then again this was Aldus Dumbledore he was talking to, so no surprise there but mostly, what was he supposed to do when a 150 year old called his bluff in his face and talked about things like love, infatuation and heated activities, for Christ's sake not even with Ron had he talked about such thing , yet anyway.

His embarrassed state seemed to be amusing Dumbledore even further, so he decided to have a little fun for himself, at the same time hoping that his next comment of his was not going to put him in more trouble than being out after curfew.

"Speaking of personal experience, are you professor....?" asked Harry, a loop side grin on his face completing the spitting image of his father in the memory of the Headmaster.

Not having anticipated such a retort, Albus found himself in moderately shocked state for a second or two, blinking his eyes stupidly, before dissolving into a full blown laughter.

Not being able to help him-self, despite all his previous brooding, Harry couldn't hold his chuckles, the antics of the old Headmaster had managed to lift his spirits after all.

"Oh, my boy, if you only knew how much you resembled your father just a second ago, when he was in the mood for jokes and humor...!" Dumbledore gasped out between fading chuckles now.

The mention of his father deteriorated Harry's mood for just a second before a wave of pride washed over him. Yes, having almost the same appearance as his father did was a frequent comment, so he cherished the occasional ones that brought him closer to him in some other way.

The comments about his mother and his resemblance to her in some way or another were often accompanied by strong feelings of longing, pride as well, but mostly longing.

Seeing the state that the young wizard was working him-self into little-by-little, cause by his comment about one of his parents, the old wizard tried to get his attention again and hopefully away from the thought troubling the youngling in front of him.

"Well then, what will it be?" said the headmaster interrupting Harry's musings successfully.

"Ok...I guess some advice about a couple of things wouldn't be so bad after all, but don't expect me to tell you everything, all right?" consented Harry adding the last part with a stern face passing the message along that he didn't like it when people pushed him to divulge things he was not willing to.

"I expect nothing, I'm just here to listen" answered Dumbledore.


End file.
